What's new

It’s been a busy summer here at Freehold Brewing. We’ve had so much fun getting into the thick of things and have enjoyed meeting so many of our supporters over the course of this summer. Now as we move to harvest season, it’s a great time to reflect on the summer days behind us and into the exciting autumn at hand.

Location

We have some bad news. We did receive an Offer To Lease on a location in Inglewood, and deposits had been paid, but the landlord has decided that our proposed use of the location is not in their long-term interest. It would have been nice to have figured that out six months ago but, nevertheless, we have a busy week ahead of us revisiting some other locations to find our new home. Stay tuned for more updates on location.

"Do you have a location yet?" We get asked this question a lot, and we’re really bad at keeping secrets. We’re getting super keen about a couple of locations, but for now we’re going to bite our tongues, as we got burned the last time we got our hopes up. We hope you can live with the anticipation of good news on the horizon.

We've got some really awesome merch coming in (check out the shop), and the photo shoot for the women's items is coming up in two weeks, at which point we'll have all the clothing you'll need for every member of your household.

Another great month for Freehold! We attended the Beer Bash at Willow Park Wine and Spirts, participated in the ATB Science of the Six Pack, brewed and packaged Lacy Saisy, and attended Alberta Beer Festivals' Banff Craft Beer Festival. Many thanks to @Dave_TheBeerGuy and Mark Kondrat for getting us into these events. We're truly honoured to participate, and are looking forward to both of them next year.

What a month! Our first batch of Big Chutes sold out much sooner than expected (it's in 15 stores and bars in Alberta - check our stockists page for details), our booth at Rocky Mountain Wine and Food was a huge success, and we're gearing up for the Banff Craft Beer Festival at the end of next month. We're working on merchandise (it's surreal to see our logo on pint glasses!), and are narrowing in on a location for the restaurant, but that will remain top-secret for now.

Lacy Saisy Saison and Big Chutes Lager are in fermentation, and will be in cans, on shelves, and on tap in the next few weeks. Like new parents, we check on them way more than needed, knowing that the quality we're aiming for comes from unreasonable attention to detail.

Driven by the unflinching desire to deliver brews of the highest possible quality, Freehold is constantly experimenting. The result is beer that advances the state of the art while paying respect to the heritage of one of mankind's oldest beverages.

Picking the vendors, fabrics, colours, designs, and logos of the clothes we'll eventually be selling has been a blast. After learning the hard way that a couple of dudes who wear only brewery t-shirts should not pick the merch by themselves, our friends and family have stepped in with advice and ideas, and they're even modelling for us.

Matt's life purpose is to create memorable culinary experiences for his friends, family, and customers. His journey began in the kitchens of Vancouver, leading teams in elite hotel facilities and deepening his knowledge of the science and artistry of food. With an eye to striking out on his own, he began to hone his skills in business marketing, people management, and project management. Connecting with Tavis, in his spiritual homeland of Alberta, the dream of Freehold began to take shape: a place where everyone has a seat at the chef's table.

Having been jolted by inspirational words scrawled upon an art-house wall ("Don't follow in the footsteps of the masters, seek what they sought"), Tavis embarked on the homebrew journey equipped with talents honed on the grindstone of project management, team leadership, and sales. After years of toiling for others he realized he wanted the sweat dripping off his brow to contribute to his dream of opening a brewery. Working with Matt James and an incredibly talented team, Freehold Brewing Co. was brought to life.